At the Satellite we provide independent studios and support for four members of Studio upstairs who are ready to ‘move on’ from the highly supportive environment of the main studio at Studio Upstairs to their own studios within the wider community.

The Satellite Studios are independent from Studio Upstairs, rented from and based within an existing artists community, ACAVA, close to museums and galleries in Hackney. ACAVA is a well established educational charity providing studio spaces across London and who also organise exhibitions, commission public art, run educational courses and community arts projects.

Unobtrusive supervision and support by a Studio manager helps people to develop the skills to work autonomously. The Studio manager takes a supportive role in the satellite’s monthly meetings where discussion takes place on matters such as budgets, group concerns, feedback on art-work, community involvement, exhibition plans and their relationship with other artists in the building and with ACAVA. The artist’s themselves manage the everyday organisation of the studios.

Twenty-four hour, seven days a week access to a private studio allows the artists to work intensively. Interaction with the artists sharing the building can prove challenging. A stimulating environment for producing art, it also demands tolerance, negotiating skills and inner confidence in the value of one’s own opinions and art-work.

The Satellite Studio provides our members with an opportunity to pursue their art work and education independently in a professional arts setting on equal terms with the many practicing artists around them and to exhibit annually in the Cremer Street Open Studios.